While it is being charged, the traction electric battery of an electric or hybrid motor vehicle is connected to an external electricity generator, e.g. to a standard electricity network of the “mains” type.
After charging said battery, the driver may wish to use certain accessories of the vehicle that consume electrical energy, e.g. the heating, the air-conditioning, or a car radio.
In addition, apparatus for cooling the battery can also be activated after the battery has been charged in order to optimize the performance, the charging time, and the life of the battery by limiting heating thereof.
Such accessories and such cooling apparatus are conventionally powered by the vehicle traction battery only.
That suffers from the drawback of partially discharging the freshly recharged battery, thereby decreasing the range of the vehicle the next time it is used.